TiVo plans to acquire a small company that maintains a database that associates information about what viewers watch and what they buy, strengthening its position as a key source of consumer viewing habits.
TiVo will pay about $20 million for TRA, which maintains a database of information from 1.5 million TV homes that directly links information from the same households as to what viewers watch with what they buy.
TiVo has been an investor in the company, which was founded in 2008 with backing from Kodiak Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Arbitron. TRA claims 45 clients, including CBS, A&E Television Networks, Ion Media, Procter & Gamble, Oscar Mayer and Starcom MediaVest Group.
After the deal closes, the operation will be sort of renamed; as TiVo Research and Analytics, it can still be referred to as TRA.
TiVo expects the information it already gathers, combined with TRA’s data, will be of value to the TV advertising industry.
Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo, said: “TRA has proven its platform can determine the effectiveness of TV advertising by connecting the exposure of ads to actual purchases, helping advertisers identify the right audience and get the most out of their ad dollars. TRA has driven a substantial client list of advertisers, agencies and networks with this proposition. With this new level of unique audience insights and analytics, TiVo will be able to provide insights nobody else has in an industry increasingly seeking alternative ways to measure audience behavior accurately while increasing efficiencies in media spending.”